Thats not exactly that old, when you consider it, just 18 years old.
1944 is late war, so she probably wasn't worked that hard in comparison to others.
I often wondered why the RN didn't rebuild some of the cruisers as CG's?

Brian Smither

9th January 2013, 14:13

Thats not exactly that old, when you consider it, just 18 years old.
1944 is late war, so she probably wasn't worked that hard in comparison to others.
I often wondered why the RN didn't rebuild some of the cruisers as CG's?
She was scrapped because of the collision with HMS Diamond, Denmark Straits 1955(?) I was onboard Diamond. Swiftsure was burnt out from below main deck right up through the bridge superstructure as a result of a diesel tank and bofors magazine exploding upon impact. I am surprised that his collision is not mentioned more fully in SN

Brian.

Union Jack

11th January 2013, 13:35

I am surprised that this collision is not mentioned more fully in SN

All very unfortunate for both ships but, on a lighter note, the immediate aftermath of the collision resulted in the following exchange of signals:

From SWIFTSURE To DIAMOND:

What are your intentions?

From DIAMOND to SWIFTSURE:

Buy a farm.(Ouch)

Jack

Brian Smither

11th January 2013, 16:30

Yes Jack, I had forgotten about the 'Famous Signal' I kept and still have somewhere a copy of the 'Daily Orders' for the day after the collision which read 'The future is uncertain'
I wonder if the Captain was thinking out loud! As far as I can remember he was given a severe reprimand and left the ship immediately upon return to Chatham.
We all got 7 days 'survivors' leave as a result, It was a taste of the real thing in time of war when 'Damage Control' was all important to the survival of the ship.
We were on fire for'd because the paint store is always in the bows and we had to blast off the wreckage hanging on the anchor cable which was swinging violently about before we could get under way
We 'very slowly' steamed all the way back to Chatham, convinced that we would stop off en-route for repairs.

Reminds me of the two destroyers during the war that were severely damaged, both returned to port where they joined the front half of one to the rear of the other and gave the result a new name made up of both ships names. Do you recall this? I seem to think they were V & W class.
Brian.

Union Jack

11th January 2013, 22:33

Reminds me of the two destroyers during the war that were severely damaged, both returned to port where they joined the front half of one to the rear of the other and gave the result a new name made up of both ships names. Do you recall this? I seem to think they were V & W class.

Well remembered, Brian! The ship concerned was the ZUBIAN, constructed from the forward section of the First World War Tribal Class destroyer ZULU and the midship and after sections of her sister ship NUBIAN.

Further details available from several sources such as
www.naval-history.net/WW1Memoir-Zubian.htm , which includes many interesting photographs.

For your interest, the third ZULU, the Tribal Class frigate, had a very smart brass candle lantern in the wardroom, which had allegedly been used during the First World War to light the Captain's lady on her way home from visiting him on board at Dover. This lantern presumably found its way to ZUBIAN, and eventually to the third ZULU in about 1964. I'd love to know what happened to it!

Jack

D01Caprice

15th May 2014, 19:56

SUPERB was in commission for a total of 12 years. She was dubbed the Super B but there was nothing super about her. Built during wartime meant that she while not 'jerry built' was not of the same quality as those built before 1939. My prime memory of her was of the cockroaches with which she was infested. In my 15 months with her she was fumigated at least twice with no noticeable improvement.

Brian Smither

15th May 2014, 21:01

SUPERB was in commission for a total of 12 years. She was dubbed the Super B but there was nothing super about her. Built during wartime meant that she while not 'jerry built' was not of the same quality as those built before 1939. My prime memory of her was of the cockroaches with which she was infested. In my 15 months with her she was fumigated at least twice with no noticeable improvement.

I remember the'Super B', had some fellow junior stokers onboard '52 -'53. I was on Diamond '53 - '56 so we did some exercises together. We all had cockroaches in those days, though some worse than others. do you remember the tin of milk in the mess shelf when the milk would'nt come out because the hole was jammed with the buggers!
Of course there were always the loony's who took cockroaches ashore in a matchbox to be able to let them loose after the fumigation!! Said it would'nt be the same without them. The little ones were not that bad, it was the big 'Bombay runners' that I did'nt like. I worked in Durban, SA one summer, everywhere was infested with them, you could feel them crunching under your feet as you walked along the road. They would fly through your bedroom windows. I have spent many a sleepless night swatting them!